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With the JUDEANS in the PALESTINE CAMPAIGN
Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, (1867 – 1947), known by some as "the godfather of the Israeli Army" was a British soldier, hunter, author and Christian Zionist, best known for his book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (1907), which details his experiences while building a railway bridge over the Tsavo river in Kenya in 1898–99. The book has inspired three Hollywood films - Bwana Devil (1952), Killers of Kilimanjaro (1959) and The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) in which he was portrayed by Val Kilmer.
Although largely forgotten by history, in the First World War, Patterson was the commander of the Jewish Legion, "the first Jewish fighting force in nearly two millennia. It was in this role that he was called the godfather of the Israeli army."
"WITH THE JUDEANS IN THE PALESTINE CAMPAIGN", by Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Patterson (MacMillan), is the story of the Jewish Battalion of the British army, written by its commander. The Battalion, formed in August, 1917, as the result of a decision of the British cabinet, saw active service in the Holy Land, beset continually by the unfriendliness of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
Colonel Patterson indicates throughout his book an understanding of, and sympathy with, his Jewish soldiers. An interesting sentence from the introduction: ". . .It would not surprise me if the historian of the future seized upon this dramatic appearance of the Jewish warrior, fighting for the redemption of Israel under the banner of England, as one of the most interesting episodes of the Great World War."
He writes:
" THE formation of a Battalion of Jews for service in the British Army is an event without precedent in our annals, and the part played by such a unique unit is assured of a niche in history, owing to the fact that it fought in Palestine, not only for the British cause, but also for the Restoration of the Jewish people to the Promised Land. In writing the following narrative, my object has been to give a faithful account of the doings of this Jewish Battalion while it was under my command."
CONTENTS
I. The Balfour Declaration
II. The Sanballats
III. The Formation of the Jewish Regiment
IV. Training at Plymouth
V. The Kosher Problem
VI. We Set Out for Palestine
VII. Back in the Land of Bondage
VIII. The Feast of the Passover
IX. We Set Out for the Front
X. The Nablus Front
XI. We March TO THE Jordan Valley
XII. Our Position in the Mellahah
XIII. Life in the Mellahah
XIV. We Win Our First Honours
XV. Capture of the Umm esh Shert Ford
XVI. The Lost Transport Wagons
XVII. We Go Up to Ramoth Gilead
XVIII. The Crown of Victory
XIX. The Strategical Value of Palestine
XX. Hospital Scandal at Jerusalem
XXI. Life at Ludd
XXII. At Rafa
XXIII. Return of the Anzacs
XXIV. A Red-Letter Day
XXV. Forbidden to Enter the Holy City
XXVI. The Great Boxing Competition
XXVII. An Exciting Race
XXVIII. Damascus
XXIX. Among the Philistines
XXX. The Fall of Goliath
XXXI. Protests
XXXII. A Trip to the Sea of Galilee
XXXIII. Strange Methods of the E. E. F.
XXXIV. Staff
XXXV. The First Judeans
XXXVI. The Jerusalem Pogrom
XXXVII. The Dawn
This book originally published in 1922 has been reformatted for the Kindle and may contain an occasional imperfection from the original publication or from the reformatting.
Although largely forgotten by history, in the First World War, Patterson was the commander of the Jewish Legion, "the first Jewish fighting force in nearly two millennia. It was in this role that he was called the godfather of the Israeli army."
"WITH THE JUDEANS IN THE PALESTINE CAMPAIGN", by Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Patterson (MacMillan), is the story of the Jewish Battalion of the British army, written by its commander. The Battalion, formed in August, 1917, as the result of a decision of the British cabinet, saw active service in the Holy Land, beset continually by the unfriendliness of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.
Colonel Patterson indicates throughout his book an understanding of, and sympathy with, his Jewish soldiers. An interesting sentence from the introduction: ". . .It would not surprise me if the historian of the future seized upon this dramatic appearance of the Jewish warrior, fighting for the redemption of Israel under the banner of England, as one of the most interesting episodes of the Great World War."
He writes:
" THE formation of a Battalion of Jews for service in the British Army is an event without precedent in our annals, and the part played by such a unique unit is assured of a niche in history, owing to the fact that it fought in Palestine, not only for the British cause, but also for the Restoration of the Jewish people to the Promised Land. In writing the following narrative, my object has been to give a faithful account of the doings of this Jewish Battalion while it was under my command."
CONTENTS
I. The Balfour Declaration
II. The Sanballats
III. The Formation of the Jewish Regiment
IV. Training at Plymouth
V. The Kosher Problem
VI. We Set Out for Palestine
VII. Back in the Land of Bondage
VIII. The Feast of the Passover
IX. We Set Out for the Front
X. The Nablus Front
XI. We March TO THE Jordan Valley
XII. Our Position in the Mellahah
XIII. Life in the Mellahah
XIV. We Win Our First Honours
XV. Capture of the Umm esh Shert Ford
XVI. The Lost Transport Wagons
XVII. We Go Up to Ramoth Gilead
XVIII. The Crown of Victory
XIX. The Strategical Value of Palestine
XX. Hospital Scandal at Jerusalem
XXI. Life at Ludd
XXII. At Rafa
XXIII. Return of the Anzacs
XXIV. A Red-Letter Day
XXV. Forbidden to Enter the Holy City
XXVI. The Great Boxing Competition
XXVII. An Exciting Race
XXVIII. Damascus
XXIX. Among the Philistines
XXX. The Fall of Goliath
XXXI. Protests
XXXII. A Trip to the Sea of Galilee
XXXIII. Strange Methods of the E. E. F.
XXXIV. Staff
XXXV. The First Judeans
XXXVI. The Jerusalem Pogrom
XXXVII. The Dawn
This book originally published in 1922 has been reformatted for the Kindle and may contain an occasional imperfection from the original publication or from the reformatting.
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2004
About the author
John Henry Patterson
51 books23 followersLieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, DSO, known as J.H. Patterson, was an Anglo-Irish soldier, hunter, author and Zionist, best known for his book The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (1907), which details his experiences while building a railway bridge over the Tsavo river in Kenya in 1898-99.
Although he was himself a Protestant, he became a major figure in Zionism as the commander of both the Zion Mule Corps and of the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (aka Jewish Legion of the British Army) in World War One. He ultimately achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel, and retired from the British Army in 1920. Patterson was a strong supporter of the establishment of a separate Jewish state in the Middle East, which was realized with the statehood of Israel on May 14, 1948, less than a year after his death.
Patterson died at the age of eighty. He was living in California at the time.
Although he was himself a Protestant, he became a major figure in Zionism as the commander of both the Zion Mule Corps and of the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (aka Jewish Legion of the British Army) in World War One. He ultimately achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel, and retired from the British Army in 1920. Patterson was a strong supporter of the establishment of a separate Jewish state in the Middle East, which was realized with the statehood of Israel on May 14, 1948, less than a year after his death.
Patterson died at the age of eighty. He was living in California at the time.
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May 6, 2019
I did an in-depth study of Patterson as part of a thesis. This exposed me to many of his works and I enjoyed exploring the man.
March 17, 2026
The Kindle version is available on Amazon at: https://a.co/d/09ZxRU21
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews